Turkey’s Circassians Press Ankara to Reopen Sea Route to Abkhazia
by Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia
Vienna,
January 8 – Leaders of the six-million-strong Circassian community of
Turkey met with that country’s President Abdulla Gul this week to press
for the reopening of ferry service from Trabzon to the Abkhaz port of
Sukhum(i), a link that was suspended in 2006 when the CIS imposed an
embargo on that breakaway republic.
January 8 – Leaders of the six-million-strong Circassian community of
Turkey met with that country’s President Abdulla Gul this week to press
for the reopening of ferry service from Trabzon to the Abkhaz port of
Sukhum(i), a link that was suspended in 2006 when the CIS imposed an
embargo on that breakaway republic.
On
Monday, Gul received the leaders of the Caucasus Federation Khase,
which unites 56 Circassian groups in Turkey, for 45 minutes to discuss
this and Circassian demands for more broadcasting in their by Turkish
channels and more Circassian language classes in Turkish universities (www.kafkasfederasyonu.org/haber/tr_basin/2009/070109_bianet.htm and
www.natpress.net/stat.php?id=3756).
Monday, Gul received the leaders of the Caucasus Federation Khase,
which unites 56 Circassian groups in Turkey, for 45 minutes to discuss
this and Circassian demands for more broadcasting in their by Turkish
channels and more Circassian language classes in Turkish universities (www.kafkasfederasyonu.org/haber/tr_basin/2009/070109_bianet.htm and
www.natpress.net/stat.php?id=3756).
After
the meeting, Khase general coordinator Dzhumkhur Bal told the media
that the reopening of sea communications with Abkhazia was not only
possible but vital for his community because now after the August 2008
war, “there is no need for compatriots of Abkhazia [such as the
Circassians living in Turkey] to obtain a Russian visa.”
the meeting, Khase general coordinator Dzhumkhur Bal told the media
that the reopening of sea communications with Abkhazia was not only
possible but vital for his community because now after the August 2008
war, “there is no need for compatriots of Abkhazia [such as the
Circassians living in Turkey] to obtain a Russian visa.”
And
he added that expanding Circassian broadcasting in Turkey, where TRT-3
now broadcasts seven hours a day in that language was especially
important given the increasing attention of his community to what is
taking place in Abkhazia and other historically Circassian areas in the
northern Caucasus.
he added that expanding Circassian broadcasting in Turkey, where TRT-3
now broadcasts seven hours a day in that language was especially
important given the increasing attention of his community to what is
taking place in Abkhazia and other historically Circassian areas in the
northern Caucasus.
Only a day before
the Circassians of Turkey met with Gul, more than 150 young Circassians
in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygeya assembled in
Cherkessk to reiterate their call for working toward the creation of a
single Circassian Republic in the North Caucasus (www.caucasustimes.com/article.asp?id=18596).
the Circassians of Turkey met with Gul, more than 150 young Circassians
in Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygeya assembled in
Cherkessk to reiterate their call for working toward the creation of a
single Circassian Republic in the North Caucasus (www.caucasustimes.com/article.asp?id=18596).
As
they have repeatedly in recent months, the young people asserted that
“Kabardinians, Cherkesses, Abazas and Adygeys are “one people and must
live in a single republic in the framework of the Russian Federation,”
a demand that they said “corresponds to the right of nations to
self-determination and [Vladimir Putin’s] policy of amalgamating
regions.”
they have repeatedly in recent months, the young people asserted that
“Kabardinians, Cherkesses, Abazas and Adygeys are “one people and must
live in a single republic in the framework of the Russian Federation,”
a demand that they said “corresponds to the right of nations to
self-determination and [Vladimir Putin’s] policy of amalgamating
regions.”
The session, which was
organized with the support of Nart-TV, a station in Jordan where there
is also a large Circassian diaspora, included speakers who insisted
that the restoration of such a republic would “to a large extent
stabilize the situation in the region and strengthen the geopolitical
position of Russia.”
organized with the support of Nart-TV, a station in Jordan where there
is also a large Circassian diaspora, included speakers who insisted
that the restoration of such a republic would “to a large extent
stabilize the situation in the region and strengthen the geopolitical
position of Russia.”
Most Russian
officials, however, and some Circassian leaders inside the Russian
Federation oppose that idea in the first case, because they view it as
a threat to Moscow’s control in the awake of Abkhazia’s moves toward
independence and in the second, because they fear it might undercut
their own positions or harm Circassian interests.
officials, however, and some Circassian leaders inside the Russian
Federation oppose that idea in the first case, because they view it as
a threat to Moscow’s control in the awake of Abkhazia’s moves toward
independence and in the second, because they fear it might undercut
their own positions or harm Circassian interests.
But
the Circassian diaspora is completely behind the idea, as the actions
of the Caucasus Federation in Turkey and Nart TV in Jordan show. And
those communities are now playing an ever greater role not only in the
countries where they are now living but in the region from which their
ancestors were expelled almost 150 years ago.
the Circassian diaspora is completely behind the idea, as the actions
of the Caucasus Federation in Turkey and Nart TV in Jordan show. And
those communities are now playing an ever greater role not only in the
countries where they are now living but in the region from which their
ancestors were expelled almost 150 years ago.
As
the Russian government works over the next several years to prepare for
an Olympics in Sochi, the activities of these communities and their
influence on their co-ethnics inside the Russian Federation are certain
to grow, creating new challenges for all the countries involved and
perhaps new opportunities for this much oppressed nation.
the Russian government works over the next several years to prepare for
an Olympics in Sochi, the activities of these communities and their
influence on their co-ethnics inside the Russian Federation are certain
to grow, creating new challenges for all the countries involved and
perhaps new opportunities for this much oppressed nation.
